18th February
by Dr Amit Oad
Early in the morning of day 3 on the IWAH course, we entered Sariska Tiger Reserve, located in Rajasthan, India. We took open jeeps with our instructors guiding us on various aspects of wildlife and the dynamic nature of the wildlife habitat. The habitat around us began with a scrubland forest, as you may find in various parts of northwest India. However, the number of spotted deer was a great surprise. A large herd consisting of four females along with two males were seen feeding on berries (Ziziphus sp.). The sounds of parakeets flying overhead in flocks were outstanding. If you ask me, sighting peafowl with their majestic blue is a sight to behold. As we travelled the dusty but continuously interesting 20km track, we reached a water body. I was thrilled to see a croc basking on a small island in the lake. Aquatic birds like teal and river terns were busy with their daily activities. These sightings were followed by field observations like pugmarks. Clear and distinct these pugmarks signalled the movement of the largest carnivore in India through the landscape. We next sighted Sambar, including two males sparring, and a herd wallowing in a body of water.
The presence of human settlements was surprising and reminds us of our need to reduce anthropogenic impacts in protected areas. Finally, we learnt about the species of trees around us including acacia, balentitis, flame of the jungle and siris. Amongst the trees were several bird species including red-vented bulbul, kingfisher, sandpiper, grey francolin, ruddy shelduck, Chinese coot, water hen and cattle egret.
Overall this first trip into the park not only provided a basic exposure to the wildlife diversity but also opened my eyes to the conservation challenges at hand.